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I’ve Gone Viral!

I have the flu! I am so miserable. I felt it coming on Friday night, then Saturday morning I was feverish and achy. I have every flu symptom imaginable. My head is throbbing. I am horribly congested. My cough sound like the devil is stuck in my chest. When I cough, I have to clutch my head tightly because it hurts so bad. I’m either hot and sweaty or suffering from the chills. I have spent the past 3 days in bed: Saturday, Sunday watching the Superbowl, and skipping work this Monday.

This is the worst timing.

My cousin gets married in Carmel on Friday.

My tenants move out on Monday which means I have to get my condo prepped for sale.

And I am losing weight. Not necessarily because of the flu, but this damn gluten-free, super-healthy diet is completely counter-productive when it comes to gaining weight. I am never going to gain weight if I can’t eat cookies and ice-cream! I am not going to gain weight eating nuts, fresh fruit and veggies, organic meat, and avocados. Not going to happen. Something has got to give. Not sure how much longer I can stick to this stupid diet.

I spoke to the advice nurse at Kaiser who was beyond helpful. She listened to each of my symptoms, then gave me a remedy for each. Advil – check. Pseudophedrine – check. Cough suppressant with codeine sent to the pharmacy for me to pickup. She told me to go to the drug store and get Afrin and saline and water spray if I didn’t want the jittery feeling caused by Pseudophedrine. So I headed down to Walgreen’s a few blocks away and I’m thinking I could potentially be infecting people right now at this very moment while I shop in the Cold and Flu section. But what’s a sick girl to do? I need relief!

Oh dear, you didn’t take my advice 2 weeks ago and get the shot:( I’m sorry but you can go get a RX for Tamilfu if you aren’t adversed to taking prescription meds. Hopefully get relief by then. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Oh bad timing making major changes to your diet and being sick. And I do understand about the weight loss when going gluten-free but believe me you can gain weight while eating differently. Weight gain/loss is all about calories in versus calories burned so what you need to do is just eat MORE. Nuts, meat and avocado are all good sources of fat and are higher in calories than fruits and veggies so make yourself a Dagwood-style chicken breast sandwich (let me know if you need a good gluten-free bread recommendation) with extra avocado slices and a handfull of cashews on the side and chow down. The important thing about this diet change is the quality of the food you are putting in your body. And I hate to say it, but no matter how much you love cookies, chips, candy and ice cream they are all too high in sugar and fat and too low in nutrients to be healthy. Trust your nutritionist, work with them if needed to come up with a daily menu plan that makes sure you get enough calories and all of the necessary vitamins and minerals to maintain your ideal weight and health. You are doing the right thing. Hang in there, it will get easier. And I hope you get well soon. xo

Dear Vixen,

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Welcome to the Dear Vixen blog, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I'm Catherine Gacad. I live in SF. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. Email me with topics and questions or suggestions for guest posts. For more click here.